1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image shooting apparatus for shooting an image, also relates to a video display apparatus, and further relates to a video processing system provided with such an image shooting apparatus and a video display apparatus.
2. Description of Related Art
Conventionally, image shooting apparatuses (such as video cameras) have been widely used for shooting subjects such as landscapes. In particular, recent years have seen the spread of compact, inexpensive image shooting apparatuses, which have enabled the general public to enjoy image shooting comfortably. In addition, various technologies have been proposed for enhancing the functions of image shooting apparatuses; for example, there have been proposed technologies for correcting videos shot with video cameras.
On the other hand, many digital AV (audiovisual) appliances like image shooting apparatuses and video display apparatuses (such as television receivers) as mentioned above incorporate an interface (HDMI interface) conforming to the HDMI (high-definition multimedia interface) standards. With an HDMI interface, it is possible to transfer video, audio, and other data at high speed via a single cable.
In that way, it is possible to transfer a video shot with an image shooting apparatus to a video display apparatus so that the shot video may be displayed on the video display apparatus. This meets users' demand to “watch shot videos on larger screens.”
The HDMI standards provide not only for AV output etc. but also for CEC (consumer electronics control) functions, i.e., functions for mutual control between different appliances. By CEC, appliances with an HDMI interface can exchange control commands etc. among them, allowing one-to-one or one-to-many control of the appliances.
An example of CEC functions is a “one-touch play function.” With this function, for example, when a “playback” button on a video camera is pressed, a television receiver connected to it starts up automatically and accepts input of video information etc. from the video camera. The HDMI standards define many other functions, and which of them to implement is left to the arbitrary discretion of appliance manufacturers.
In environments where image shooting apparatuses can be used comfortably as mentioned above, it is often the case that image shooting is performed by users who are unfamiliar with the handling of appliances. This is considered to be the reason that image shooting is often performed with an image shooting apparatus inclined, producing shot videos that are toppled sideways or are slanted (inclined). On the other hand, it may happen that while image shooting itself is performed normally, the viewer wishes to see videos deliberately inclined to suit his purpose. Against this background, a function of displaying a shot video after rotating it as desired (rotated display of a shot video) turns out to be convenient to users, because it allows correction of an inclined video and other capabilities. In particular, in a case where a shot video is transferred from an image shooting apparatus to a video display apparatus, if the video display apparatus is provided with a function of rotating a video, it is possible, for example by adopting a configuration that permits information such as a rotation angle (rotation information) to be transferred from the image shooting apparatus to the video display apparatus, to achieve rotated display of a shot video. Moreover, communication between appliances for such a function can be realized with high reliability by use of well-established CEC functions.